


BLUE

by ismellitblue



Category: Naruto
Genre: AU, Attempted Murder, BAMF Sasuke, Bad Ideas, Dark Comedy, Death, F/M, Family, Gen, Hacking, Humor, Illness, Mikoto Uchiha - Freeform, Murder, Non-professional medical illness description, Other, Sasuke-centric, Serious Illness, Sick!Sasuke, alternative universe, backstabbing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-30
Updated: 2017-09-30
Packaged: 2019-01-07 09:14:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,461
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12229938
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ismellitblue/pseuds/ismellitblue
Summary: Danzo goes after the Uchiha in the Business world-but being himself it's not just a hostile takeover-he wants them dead.And Sasuke is way too sick to stand in his way---or is he?





	BLUE

**Author's Note:**

> Hello,I do not own Naruto and this is just a self service fic.

It’s not anything in particular that sets it off.

One moment he’s watching paramedics load  their heavily pregnant, and screaming head of communications, Kurenai, onto a stretcher(why they call it the joys of labour, Sasuke has no idea).

Next thing he knows ,he’s waking up to his mother’s very worried face hovering over him in the hospital.The explanation for his predicament is just three words.

Sudden Cardiac Arrest.

It’s not a heart attack they tell him.His heart just decided to take a break, for the first time in twenty –one years.

He spends his mandatory bed rest with his hand practically glued to his chest.Needing to feel his heartbeat to reassure himself that it’s not going away anytime soon.His mother wants him to ‘ _talk to someone about his ordeal,’_ but Sasuke has never been much of a talker and his heart abandoning him for a few seconds hasn’t changed that.So he takes the route of all his ancestors before him and bottles everything up,until the fear suffocates and dies in a cold dark place in his mind.

They release him from the hospital ,and three weeks later, he comes back and when he leaves he has a nifty little device implanted in him.

**

He heads to work a week later and arrives earlier than everybody else.Both Itachi and his mother had been pushing him to extend his break ignoring the fact that he’d been given the green light by his doctors.In the end he’d decided to come to work without alerting them of his plans.

Once he’s in his office doing some work, they’ll be able to see that he can continue on as usual.

His brilliant plan crashes and dies a painful death when he reaches his office.Instead of Uchiha Sasuke  Chief Financial Officer,his name has been replaced.The new name is short and simple.

Sai.

“Hn.” He blinks owlishly at the name before turning around and heading back to the elevator.He ignores the loud buzzing in his head ,threatening to make him lose his temper and focuses on the sound of his footsteps.

The lift opens to reveal his older brother who staring impassively at his phone.Upon noticing Sasuke, he taps at his phone and the buzzing,that Sasuke had been convinced was in his head stops.He looks down just then realizing that his phone’d been ringing for a while.Itachi raises an amused brow and Sasuke looks away,trying and failing to look dignified-he’s not embarrassed lots of people forget their phones can ring.

 Itachi clears his throat to recapture his attention and grabs Sasuke’s elbow gently guiding him into the lift.His brother’s poker face replaces his amused one, but Sasuke can see the guilt in his eyes.A car parks in _his_ spot as they are leaving and Sasuke catches a glimpse of a dark haired young man in a tailored suit before Itachi pulls away.

***

“You fired me.”

“Of course not dear…your father just put you on… permanent leave”His mother says soothingly.

He looks at the screen where his father is pretending there is something wrong with his skype connection,to his brother whose staring intensely at something behind Sasuke.His gaze returns to his mother,whose sipping her tea quietly.

“You can’t do this”His voice comes out cold and flat.

The other occupants of the room tense, but otherwise remain unaffected by his protests.They hold firm to their decision.He tries to be as calm as possible as he holds what is virtually a one-sided argument.Showing how riled up he is will probably end with them,saying his cardiac arrest has made him too emotional to work with numbers(which is utter nonsense)but he doesn’t put it past them to come up with an argument like that.

So he pushes back his pride(as well as his rage) and tries for the better part of an hour to get them to listen.

“Enough,Sasuke!My decision is final,your health isn’t stable enough for such a high pressure job”His father says,apparently having found his lost tongue during Sasuke’s one sided debate

“You’ll be heading back to Konoha with your mother so that you can recuperate”

The last statement is news to him and judging by the way the other two occupants wince ever so slightly,they had planned on putting off telling him that as well.

He swiftly rises from his seat.His mother sets her tea cup down with shaking hands and rises to follow him.His door slams with a satisfying thud and he hears something break.The young Uchiha sincerely hopes it’s one of the ugly house warming vases,Itachi had gotten him.

His family has him backed into a corner and they know it.Uchiha corp owns most of the businesses in  the country even the independent ones to some extent.The ones that they don’t own are properties of rival families.

Just the thought of calling a Hyuuga boss,makes him want to hurl.Starting his own business is also out of the cards.They are not above blacklisting him just to make him compliant.

He briefly considers suing them,but that idea is tossed out as quickly as it comes.His aunt Shizu would no doubt shred him to bits in court before  his great uncle passed the inevitable judgement.Then they’d cart him off to one of the family islands to ‘cheer him up’ and ‘improve his health’(in other words he’d never see the light of day again).

When he heads back to the living room, his mother and Itachi have made themselves comfortable.Itachi’s even leafing through some of Sasuke’s books with a bored look on his face-tch the nerve.

He looks like somebody with better things to do, than wait around for his brother.

The fact that Sasuke knows he does ,makes him want to kick Itachi’s shins or maybe pull at his ‘precious’ hair. Instead, he sighs loudly to get their attention and crosses his arms.

“Fine”

His mother folds the newspaper she’s been reading a small smile gracing her lips.Itachi just sits there and manages to radiate smugness without even twitching an eyelid.Sasuke clenches his fist tightly and heads back to his room.

They already knew he would agree.To be honest Sasuke himself knew he would give in, the instant he saw that idiot Sai’sname on his door.

He might be manipulative and cunning but there is no way he can go up against the combined power of his family(mainly his mother,his father likes to think he is in charge but they all know that the buck stops with her).

Perhaps after a few weeks together he can wear his mother down to the point where she at least lets him help out with the company in some way.Afterall he’s her last born child,and he’s always gotten whatever he wanted from her.

Surely this will be no different.

***

Six months into his stay at the manor and the chances of him wearing down his mother are looking bleak.

She is like a wall of air, constantly in his space without seeming obtrusive, but never ever letting him escape.He’s taken to walking around the  huge compound just to avoid her and her coven of witches(hn….friends).The old coots always try to set him up with their daughters or on one very scarring occasion,try to nab him for themselves.

He still doesn’t feel comfortable being in the same room as Mei Terumi after that incident.

One morning after a particularly long evening walk he wakes up with a slight ache in his limbs.He ignores this and heads down to breakfast where he proceeds to feign interests when his mother regales him with stories about the orphanage where she volunteers(how she keeps forgetting that only Itachi inherited her love for philanthropy is beyond him.)

It’s only as breakfast is winding down that his mother drops the bombshell.

“Your father and brother will be joining us for a little vacation,they will be arriving this evening”

Sasuke wants to ask about their sudden interest in _relaxing_ ,he raises his head to do just that and catches her eye.He sees the cold steel in her gaze and goes back to his breakfast,eating at a faster pace.He excuses himself soon after that,grabbing his laptop,phone and headphones before leaving the house.

His walks aren’t particularly interesting, but they keep his mind busy.Moving from the bustle in Ame to the quiet of Konoha has not been easy.Most of the time he walks to the edges of the property ,and then settles down to listen to some music or play games online.He’s begun reading the Akatsuki rag with an interest that he’d normally find terrifying, but it’s the only link he has to the city so he doesn’t beat himself up about it.

The day passes  as it always does with him scrolling through gossip columns and listening to music.He takes more naps than he usually does during the day but when he heads back to the house he’s still tired and achy.

Dinner that night is…. interesting.

His family has never been big on words ,in fact the only time they ever say more than a few sentences is when they are arguing(Even then  it’s only about three words at a time and a lot of glaring).Without any argument in sight they all just sit around and hn a lot.It’s incredibly depressing ,but any thoughts they might entertain of bailing are shot down by his mother’s _not glare and her...’smile’_.

In the end, Sasuke doesn’t have to sit through the whole meal.His mother comments on how pale he looks and he latches on to that excuse by adding that he’s exhausted.To be fair it’s not a lie, he hasn’t been feeling too good for a few days,it’s just especially bad that evening ,but given the fact that he had his monthly appointment a week prior and the doctor found nothing wrong, he’s sure it’s unimportant.He leaves quietly,making sure to throw a superior look at a crest-fallen Itachi before _slowly_ making his way up the stairs(great…even his knees hurt).

***

Despite his exhaustion he finds himself awakening at 1 o’clock in the morning and no matter what he tries he can’t go back to sleep.In the end he settles for watching a movie .He doesn’t really pay much attention to it and allows his mind to wander.This turns out to be a terrible mistake.

One moment he’s thinking of what would happen if tomatoes were little humans that still tasted tomato-y(would eating them make him a cannibal or a meat eating vegetarian) and the next thing he knows his mind has gone to…

Let’s hack the company files.

He fights himself for a whole two seconds before,he pulls his pc closer and starts hacking his father’s work files(he’s not dumb enough to go against Itachi’s firewall) .Once he’s in, habit makes him check the finance section first.

He pulls up the figures for the current quarter and  everything looks fine,he closes the page hastily and moves on to the other departments.

By the time he’s done it’s almost dawn and he’s only slept for two hours.He downloads all the finance files(somehow he ended up not going through them-it had absolutely nothing to the _slight_ resentment he harbors for _Sai-_ he was just busy with other things-tch as though he’d waste his energy on that job stealer).

***

Sasuke drags himself down to breakfast after a quick shower ,and finds only Itachi at the table.For a moment Sasuke is struck by how-frazzled-his brother looks.There are a few strands of hair out of place.This alone makes Sasuke pause at the door way ignoring his protesting limbs.

 Itachi is _absolutely fanatical_ about his hair(When they were kids Itachi always got the part of Rapunzel,despite not having golden locks or being a girl--- _and he always nailed it_ ).He goes to extreme measures to make sure it’s perfect,for him to leave a few strands out of place is unheard of.

He approaches the table,intending to ask what’s wrong,but their parents choose that moment to walk in,so he decides to put off the matter.Sasuke gingerly takes a seat and starts serving himself some fruit salad,pointedly ignoring the way everyone is watching his slow movements and the small portion he’s eating.The youngest Uchiha manages a few spoonfuls before setting his spoon down and leaning back.

All eyes are still on him,but he can’t be bothered to care-he’s exhausted-and is regretting staying up all night.

“Sasuke dear,are you feeling any better”His mother says,looking concerned.

He  nods in his mother’s general direction and makes to stand but a wave of dizziness hits him and he staggers.A hand is there to steady him almost instantly and he looks up to meet Itachi’s worried gaze.

“I’m fine,I just got up too quickly”

Itachi doesn’t let go though,instead he guides Sasuke to his room and helps him get into bed.His older brother pauses from his task of taking off Sasuke’s shoes and the younger Uchiha looks down intent on asking him what’s wrong.

His question dies somewhere in his throat as he realizes that Itachi is staring at his ankles.His very,very,very swollen ankles.

“I walked a bit further than I should have yesterday and it finally caught up with me”He rushes to reassure his brother(in truth his ankles have been that way for a few days and he’s beginning to wonder if they are being caused by something other than his strolls).

Itachi relaxes ever so slightly at the explanation and finishes` helping Sasuke settle in.The younger Uchiha is dead to the world by the time his older brother  leaves and as such he  misses the worried look his older brother levels at him.

***

The next morning he can barely lift his head.

His mother calls in a doctor from the local clinic  and the man diagnoses him with a particularly nasty bout of flu and advices him to avoid strenuous activity so that the swelling on his feet can go down.The man assures them that it’s nothing serious and that it isn’t related to the cardiac arrest he had earlier in the year.Sasuke spends a few days in bed,too tired to even hack into the  family accounts for entertainment.

It takes a week for the flu to release him from its clutches and the instant he feels a bit better Sasuke throws himself into his work(he’s not spying)he’s just trying to figure out what’s bad enough to make his older brother throw his beauty routine out the window.

He tries to go  through the records(even the financial reports) but looking at them while in the house is virtually impossible(Itachi and his mother are watching him like hawks-plus he’s not up to pulling another all-nighter).

He waits a few days until his family’s stares lessen, before taking his chance.He wakes up before the sun is up-putting aside the bone deep exhaustion in his body and heads to the edge of the property.

Once there Sasuke goes through all the files he has with a fine tooth comb.He doesn’t find anything the first few times ,but he keeps going.Itachi is not one to get cut up over romantic entanglements, but whenever there’s something wrong with the family business he’s always a mess(the tragedy involving cousin Shisui comes to mind and Sasuke pushes it aside.)

***

It’s almost sunset by the time Sasuke finds something,the breakthrough is accidental but he welcomes it none the less.

He’s idly rubbing his ankles(which have somehow swelled to twice their size-again-despite the fact that he hasn’t walked far) when he decides to take his mind off the pain by stringing together  the first letters in his current spreadsheet  to make up names.

The first time it happens ,Sasuke is pleased to find a name that makes sense in the spreadsheet.Then a few names later the same thing repeats.By the time he’s scrolled to the fifth page and the same thing is still happening the Uchiha is on edge.

What in the world is ROOT?

He opens other company tabs looking for a correlation and when the same name keeps popping up, hidden in plain sight Sasuke feels fear coiling in his belly and slithering up his chest.The whole thing goes back a few months and it seems to have originated from the finance department-from Sai.

He hastily shuts down his laptop and shoves it into his bag and struggles to get to his feet .Once he’s up he forces his resisting legs to move.

He has to get to the house.He has to…

Sasuke’s heart thunders in his chest.Something very wrong is about to happen at Uchiha Corp and whatever it is ,his older brother knows about it.He has to ask him about it.

He pauses in his halting steps, to try and get his breathing under control,instead of making things better,this seems to worsen it.He leans against a tree and slides down until he’s seated on the dirty ground,for the first time Sasuke notices that the thundering in his chest isn’t just panic.

His chest hurts... _a lot_.

Why is breathing so difficult?

He fumbles for his phone and finally gets it out,his fingers pop painfully as he tries to bend them and he finds himself regretting switching his phone off  earlier ,when his family had been calling him too much.By the time he finally has it on ,he barely has enough energy to swipe at the screen.

***

Itachi’s phone beeps as he’s getting ready for his evening exercise.

He flicks an irritated glance at the device,annoyed at himself for forgetting to switch it off.When he registers who the number belongs to his irritation grows.

“Foolish little brother,how was your moping session”

For a long moment there’s no reply ,and the oldest Uchiha brother feels his heart sink.

“…Sasuke?”

There’s still no answer,but by that time Itachi is already walking out the of his personal gym,moving faster and faster until he slams right into his father while running at full speed.

“Itachi!..”

His mother’s tone sharp,ready to deliver a stinging reprimand,but he cuts her off with one sentence.

“Something’s wrong with Sasuke”

That takes all the anger out of her and she turns towards the door, completely ignoring her husband ,who’s carefully getting to his feet.

He manages to track his brother’s location using his phone and even though it gives only a rough estimate Itachi is beyond grateful-at least they know where to look.

***

They split up when they reach the forest edge,hoping to increase their chances of finding him before the sunset.

He feels like an eternity has passes while he’s traipsing through the woods,trying to get a hint of where his brother could be.His phone battery is dying like it’s being paid for it,as it’s torch consumes all its power.

By the time he hits the forty minute mark and there’s still no sign of Sasuke,Itachi’s eyes have begun to sting in a way that has nothing to do with exhaustion.

“Mikoto!”

When his father’s frantic voice reaches him,he runs in the direction of his voice,tripping over exposed roots and twigs,but never letting his pace  falter.

His relief at Sasuke being found is short lived.

Sasuke is awake,but as Itachi gets closer he can tell that Sasuke isn’t aware.

His eyes are glassy, staring blankly at a fallen tree and when Itachi kneels to hold his hand,Sasuke does not show any signs of feeling the pressure.

It's scary in a way he's never experienced before and he does not like it one bit.

***

When he wakes up he’s in the hospital…again.

He is getting sick and tired of the white walls of his room in his family’s private wing.

With nothing better to do, he takes a few moments to observe the details making this particular hospital stay different from the previous one.He takes in all the different machines that he’s attached to(there are a lot of them) with a detached sort of calmness that can only be brought about by some heavy duty drugs.

A nurse comes in as he’s trying to pull out his nasal cannula and gently restrains him.

Oxygen therapy,she calls it as she chides him.

Despite the name it’s not even related to aromatherapy,it feels more like it’s distant angry cousin  and when Sasuke mentions this to the woman, she laughs softly before patting his hand and telling him he should get some rest.She leaves before Sasuke can get some answers as to why he’s in the hospital again and lets himself drift off in a morphine induced haze.

When Itachi comes into the room an hour or so later, Sasuke is clear headed enough to notice how he looks more frazzled than ever.All thoughts Sasuke has of asking him about ROOT,go out the window.His older brother already looks like he’s about to crumble.Sasuke does not want to be the one to push him over the edge.

He settles for asking the obvious ,instead of throwing a curve ball at Itachi.

“So, what is it this time,is it an infection,did the flu spread too quickly for my _delicate_ immune system”

The last part is said as a joke but the way Itachi does a full body flinch,has him on high  alert.

“Nii-san,what’s wrong?Is whatever that’s up with me serious?”

Sasuke watches with half lidded eyes as Itachi takes a seat on the sofa at the back of the bed.His older brother stares at him for a long while,before he finally decides to speak.

“Do you know how long you’ve been here?”

“Seeing as it was evening when I fell,and right now sunlight is streaming out the window,I take it I spent the night here.”

Itachi is looking intently at something to Sasuke’s left when he finally answers.

“You’ve been here for two weeks,little brother”

Two weeks!What on earth?

Itachi moves over to the side of the bed and pokes him lightly on the forehead.The action has the desired effect of pulling him out of his thoughts and as he’s calming down, Sasuke notices that the beeping of the machines around him is also becoming less frantic.His cheeks heat with embarrassment,but Itachi pretends not to notice and starts talking about random stuff.Sasuke gladly listens to his brother’s blatant distraction until sleep begins to beckon him once more.

It’s only after Itachi has quietly closed the door behind him that Sasuke realizes something.Itachi had never told him what was wrong with him.He’d evaded the topic without seeming like he was doing so(how did he always do that-it was like he was some sort of master illusionist).

***

He finds out what’s wrong with him in his third week at the hospital.

Systemic Lupus Erythematosus(SLE).

Each word in the diagnosis drops down on him like a boulder.Settling on his chest and making his heart contract until he’s certain his chest is going to cave in.He’d known on a primal level that something was wrong with him,but he hadn’t imagined it would be so serious.

His doctor prattles on,completely oblivious to Sasuke’s turmoil.He watches the man’s lips moving,occasionally hearing a few words here and there,but none of them give him any comfort.

The man’s in the middle of saying something about stem cells when the door opens.His father’s imposing form enters ,the doctor doesn’t notice him though,he keeps talking unaware of Sasuke's silent panic.His father frowns at the man and asks for...a word...Sasuke never sees the man again (thank goodness)

The Uchihas of course take the news as well as can be expected(that is to say,they implode and rearrange so quickly their anguish is only visible to other family members).

His mother turns into a cross between a she-beast and Florence Nightingale(it’s a terrifying combination).His father looks like he’s going to turn to stone as a result of all the stuff he’s keeping bottled in.His cousin Mei comes to see him only once ,she takes several photos of them together and posts them just so she can look like she cares(Sasuke can’t really blame her,she always been conniving like that-plus the pics are likely to help her dad win the upcoming  election-which is a plus for the family).

Other family members also come around though most of them like Mei , are only there for their own benefit.

The one person who stands out from all of them though-is Itachi.His brother is self destructing and everybody is too focused on Sasuke and themselves to notice.But Sasuke notices and the only way he can think to help him since he can’t do anything about his illness is to help him with the ROOT problem.

He tries on numerous occasions to tell his brother that he knows,but he can’t bring himself to say the words.Itachi has always been set on trying to protect Sasuke from the world,if he learns that Sasuke knows they are in trouble his stress levels would probably quadruple instead of decreasing.

In the end , he settles for doing as much research(..hm-spying) as he can whenever the flare up he’s having abates.

***

He spends four months in the hospital and by the time he finally leaves he knows exactly what ROOT is.

It’s an organization run by a man named Shimura Danzo.Sasuke recalls seeing him during several of the galas they often hosted.He is a big shot when it comes to hostile takeovers and apparently he is gunning for the Uchiha.There are also rumors circulating about him having ties to the yakuza.

From the information Sasuke has managed to gather on the man, he knows that the rumors have a lot of truth in them.There are just too many dead bodies and missing people in ‘ _business deals’_ that Danzo has been in.In some instances,entire families have gone missing just months after being robbed blind and destroyed socially by the heavily bandaged man. The way in which all these cases have been ignored, makes something in Sasuke freeze in fear.

The Uchiha are powerful and well connected(that much is  a given).But Danzo…Danzo is _dangerous._ He’s the type to play for the long run,setting plans in motion that take years to bear fruit ,but once everything is ready,absolutely nothing can stand in his way(he devours everything in his path).

And he’s going to eat his family alive.

He’s  already begun feeding on Itachi.

_Itachi._

Danzo is preying on his older brother.Sasuke grits his teeth ,and takes a deep breath,savouring the pure oxygen before releasing it.

His family will not fall,his older brother will not suffer.Sasuke is going to make sure of it,Danzo is going down,no matter what(of course he’s still has to figure out how exactly he’s going to take out the zombiefied mummy,with a penchant for blood and business shares,but the point is he has a goal and he’s going to achieve it).

Uchiha Sasuke is nothing if not tenacious.

***

His family holds more and more meetings in Konoha ,until most of them are practically living at the manor.The meetings are held every week,but all the concerns circle around several main points.

The company’s stock has fallen to an all time low.Shareholders are getting antsy.Some of their  suppliers are threatening to break partnerships that have been there for generations.Even family members who aren’t actively in the company are receiving heat.The news is painting them in an unflattering light.Nothing too obvious,just a few discouraging remarks here and there that are slowly but surely making the public wary of them.

Sasuke listens from his secret hiding spot(his father had banned him from all meetings-sighting Sasuke’s _failing_ health as the reason)  and he feels pressure squeezing him like vice.Danzo is playing his hand and none of them realizes it.The ones who do(him and Itachi) are powerless to stop him.

***

A year passes with all of them being on edge and it becomes a norm.His family knows they are under attack,but they don’t know who it’s coming from.The more zealous(tch…stupid) family members have started antagonizing people who haven’t done anything,effectively getting rid of potential allies(the morons are accelerating Danzo’s plan).

It’s all a big mess and the stress is taking its toll on Sasuke.His flare ups have become so common,that if two weeks pass without one, his doctor panics (personally,Sasuke thinks Orochimaru just enjoys experimenting on him,…all in the name of finding  a cocktail of drugs that suit him of course).The man is a genius,Sasuke will give him that, but he should also come with a warning ,clearly outlining the dangers of science addiction.

But in the end Orochimaru is the one who gives Sasuke,the faintest idea on how to get rid of the mummy(maybe he’s related to the business sinking Imhotep-their manner of thinking is very similar).

Orochimaru is going on and on about how his latest project(the cursed seal capsule…the name sounds more like a poison than medicine-but he’s convinced the board ,that it will _help_ patients) is almost complete,but one wrong move and everything falls apart.

“The finishing stages are the most vulnerable”The mad Doctor keeps hissing,talking to Sasuke like the Uchiha is actually interested(personally Sasuke thinks it’s because Orochimaru doesn’t have any friends).

An idea sparks in Sasuke at that moment and he feels a terrible wonderful emotion blooming in his chest…hope.

***

 

Unfortunately,having an idea does not mean it will work.

Sasuke works day and night,trying to find backdoors into Danzo’s operation but it’s watertight.It’s pretty obvious that they’ve been around for a long time.The most Sasuke has been able to glean from them before retreating as he set off several alarms in their systems was a date and a name.

Operation fire extinguisher : 15 August.

If things weren’t so serious Sasuke is certain he’d be laughing at the ridiculous name, but he can’t.The name might be something a nine year old could come up with ,but the plan itself is something only a truly demented mind could put in  motion.And the man even has a date picked out for when he’s going to end them,like he’s scheduling a meeting instead of the end of one of the most powerful families in the world.

His family only has three months left.

***

 

The first month in the countdown passes the same as the others have in the year.With a lot of family meetings paired with hospital visits.Sasuke starts using a wheelchair as his symptoms make his ankles swell beyond recognition.Even his cannula is replaced by an oxygen mask,after a while the freedom the wheelchair brings is taken away and he’s confined to his bed(even when he’s out of the hospital).

He gets close to nothing done.

In the second month he gives in to desperation and signs up for the cursed seal trials.His body burns for a week, an unrelenting heat wave, that has him moved to ICU and has his family visiting with grim expressions.In his few moments of lucidness, Sasuke makes peace with the fact that he’s dying, but on the seventh day he wakes up and his body feels young again for the first time in months.He walks unassisted,breaths on his own and his joints don’t feel like they are made of popcorn.

In that month Sasuke manages to go in and out off ROOT’s main server without ever being detected(there was one close call but he evaded capture masterfully).He finds evidence on the families they’ve destroyed in the past,from the Akimichi to the Inuzuka(they’d even killed the family’s dogs).

The problem is ,while everything is written and obviously true,he can’t use any of it,for the simple reason that he’s obtaining it illegally.So he keeps digging,focusing more on trying to get his family out relatively unscathed,than getting justice for those who’ve been wronged.

He works and works,discreetly popping extra pills, even though he’s only supposed to take one cursed seal a day.

In addition to keeping his SLE at bay, the cursed seal capsule also works as some sort of energy booster.When Sasuke takes it,he can stay awake for days rarely ever eating and still be functional.Sure he sometimes gets dizzy earning a few worried looks and there’s a bit of blood when he coughs,but it’s nothing debilitating.He knows he’s supposed to report such things immediately but he’s on a roll.He can literally taste victory,he just has to keep going a little longer.He’ll report as soon as he’s done saving his family.

***

Lying to his doctor and his family turns out to be his undoing.

The attack is completely unexpected, and after weeks of good health he’s forgotten how painful an SLE flare up is.

The air in his lungs turns to hot steam and when he tries to exhale it a steady stream of blood comes out instead.He coughs out solid lumps of the thick red substance and some of it dribbles down his nose.He can hear the panicked voices of various family members(only his parents and Itachi have ever seen him having an attack-so he can sort of understand why they are freaking out-but he doesn’t get why they feel the need to be so loud about it).

The blood itself feels like lava,and he clutches at his chest weakly(he’s pretty sure a horse just kicked him there-but that makes absolutely no sense,all their horses are at the stables).

Is his mother crying?

Why are his father’s eyes so wide?

A body blocks his line of sight as Itachi kneels down beside him and Sasuke has a moment to wonder why he looks so scared before a horse kicks him again-this time bringing a charging rhino with it.

From there everything is a blur of flashing lights.Itachi holding his hand tightly,telling him everything is going to be alright,and other voices talking over him in clipped sentences.

***

When he wakes up …he’s once again reintroduced to the hospital’s white walls.

On the plus side he’s only been there for a few hours.

That’s about all the good news he hears(that and being lucky to be alive).

The cursed seal capsules have not been without their drawbacks.In exchange for making him function at a hundred and ten percent, they’d been running his body system to the ground.His heart had finally had enough ,and had been about to take a break(twice in the span of a few minutes) when his internal defibrillator had kicked in.It had saved his life,but had also  helped unleash a flare up of epic proportions.

He nods weakly in all the right places ,and lies through his teeth about not experiencing side effects.He doesn’t mention the extra packet of pills Orochimaru had given him on the side.Dr Tsunade doesn’t seem to believe him,but Sasuke stands by his story and Orochimaru backs  him up.

When everybody else is gone,Orochimaru leans over and smiles his creepy old man smile.

“You were able to last so long,overdosing on such a potent drug.Truly the Uchiha physiology is a marvel.Be sure to let me know next time you need a…favour,Sasuke”

Considering the fact that Sasuke feels like he’s half way to meeting his maker ,and he’s surrounded by even more machines than he was when he was first diagnosed with SLE,he’s pretty sure he’s never going to willingly call Orochimaru.But he gives a slight nod nonetheless so that the man will leave and let him rest.

***

Itachi is scared.

He’s been looking at walking corpses for over a year and hasn’t been able to tell any of them about it.Worst of all,though he felt guilt,he wouldn’t change his decision.

Sasuke first,always Sasuke,the rest is just empty space.

In the months following the decline in Sasuke’s health,his resolve has only strengthened.He looks at his brother,lying on the bed and gives a mental nod.

Sasuke’s body reacting to the meds had been…horrible.He doesn’t remember it and for that Itachi’s glad.

The memory of a blood red rash blooming out of  nowhere over Sasuke’s skin.Spreading rapidly and leaving a flame like trail as his body convulsed.His lips and fingers blue as he struggled for breath,his limbs moving on their own accord.

It’s not something any of them will ever forget(the others hadn’t been there during his first flare up,and because he looked mostly okay,they’d thought lupus was childs-play).The attack had definitely scared them into realizing just how serious Sasuke’s condition is.

…He hopes they’ll understand his choice,when Danzo comes to collect.

***

Five days until his family’s destruction Sasuke is finally allowed access to his phones and to his computer-not that it’s very helpful.His body simply refuses to work at the break neck speed it had been on when he’d been taking cursed seal.He hobbles along for a few minutes before taking a break and restarts again several minutes later.All the while hiding what he’s doing from curious nurses and family members.

Everyone thinks he’s developed a liking for over-the-top-soapies(to  be fair they do have some interesting plots-he wonders if Obito’s lover Rin will realize he’s been replaced by his evil twin Tobi and save her and Kakashi before the latter loses an eye to human traffickers).But it’s not an obsession,he’s just trying to sell his cover-plus soapies are very good stress relievers… and he has a lot of stress.

He finds himself watching more and more, as the hours go by and he still hasn’t found anything concrete to stop Danzo.The man might be crazy and bloodthirsty,but he’s very efficient.

***

On the final day,Sasuke doesn’t want to  move and it’s not just because his whole body aches.In a last ditch attempt to save his family  the previous day,he’d delved into the file they had on Itachi to see what they had on him.Thinking that if he could erase whatever it was, his brother would be free of Danzo’s influence.

Instead he found only disappointment.What Danzo has on his older brother isn’t some scandalous information.

It’s him.

The man has promised to keep Sasuke well taken care of, medical bills and all,provided Itachi doesn’t stand in his way.

His brother is sacrificing the whole family,himself included , just to keep Sasuke safe.The realization makes Sasuke feel like a failure.He’s become a burden to the point that he’s being used to destroy his own family.

He watches the hours go by with a  calmness that can only be achieved when it’s about to start raining flaming cats and dogs.

Danzo Shimura’s plan is invulnerable. There is absolutely nothing Sasuke can do to stop him,all he can do is stand by and watch as his family is massacred(whether that will also be literal remains to be seen).

Root has taken down so many people that it has it down to an artform.Sasuke has seen in the files that he’s not the only one to have breached their walls,others had done so too,only to realize  they’d just given themselves front row seats to their imminent demise.

***

_Let him have everything._

His fingers stop moving over the keyboard as Sasuke considers the thought.And just like that Sasuke can see everything clearly.He starts laughing,a guttural ,strangled sound that covers his oxygen mask with flecks of blood,that he’s only able to control when a worried nurse rushes into his room(it won’t do to be sedated when he should be saving his family after all).

Yes,he’s definitely going to let Danzo have everything.

When he resumes typing ,he’s so engrossed that he doesn’t even notice the crazy grin he’s wearing.Orochimaru wanders into his room a few minutes later to try and convince him to try the upgraded cursed seal capsules and promptly leaves once he catches sight of the feral smile.

 

***

“The Uchiha have fallen”

“It appears the Uchiha corp has been having problems for a while…”

“Hostile takeover was imminent….”

“Uchiha Itachi believed to have been hiding criminal activities-”

“Investigations ongoing-”

It’s just past six in the evening when the news start-up and refuse to stop.Sasuke ignores them and continues typing away until he presses one final button and falls back onto his pillow,allowing his body some much needed rest.

He doesn’t know for sure if his plan worked-only time will tell-but they still have a chance even if it’s a small one and that’s all that matters.

The next morning he can tell the staff  know what’s going on.They give him pitying looks as they help him get ready for the day.When his mother comes to sign him out they only protest half-heartedly.

“Things are going to be bad for a little while Sasuke,but we’ll make it through,we’re Uchiha it’s what we do”

He can tell that even she doesn’t believe her own words.They’ve had skirmishes in the past and they’ve always persevered because they had money and power,now that’s been taken away.

Sasuke wants to tell her of his plan but he doesn’t want to get her hopes up-it might not work.So he just settles for looking out the window,counting cars.

***

“Shimura Danzo has been appointed CEO of Uchiha corp-”

The move is unexpected and it makes Sasuke wonder why Danzo has changed his tactics.Ussually he makes sure that he’s not mentioned directly in the takeovers but given the fact that the man just downed the Uchiha- he must be showing off a bit.

The thought of the man walking around,flaunting his family’s legacy feels him with a rage Sasuke has never felt in  his life.

He watches  as the man gives some ridiculous speech about honesty and hard work and wants nothing more than to reach into the screen and punch him.

His eyes flick tiredly to his family.Almost all of them are in motion,his uncles and aunts are on their phones,trying to call in old favours but it’s either they’re hung up on or the people don’t even bother answering.Sasuke watches all the mayhem from the bed they’ve set up for him ,Itachi sitting quietly by his side.The rest of the family isn’t talking to him and Sasuke can tell even their parents aren’t pleased with him,but they at least seem understanding.

Itachi hadn’t said anything when they’d asked him why he’d betrayed them, but the way his eyes had strayed to Sasuke had been answer enough(Sasuke wasn’t supposed to be listening but since he’d gotten ill,eavesdropping had become something he excelled in).It hadn’t taken away their ire,but his parents had been mollified by the fact that they hadn’t been sold out for trivial reasons like greed.

***

As the hours pass,Sasuke’s worry grows,it seems his last ditch attempt failed,they are done for,  he can’t bring himself to look at the distressed faces of his family.

To make matters worse,no one has come for them.

In all the research Sasuke has acquired…only families that were kicked out of their homes were allowed to live.Danzo seems to enjoy killing people in the one place they should feel safest.Images of the Aburame clan lying amongst their beloved cicadas,resurface and he forces them back down.

He squeezes Itachi’s hand weakly and feels his brother unconsciously return the gesture as his eyes remain glued to the TV screen.

***

Sasuke is trying to put off falling asleep for as long as possible when the news headlines change their tune.

“Uchiha Corp goes bankrupt just hours after Shimura Danzo,takes charge”

His eyes open all the way and focus on the screen.From the corner of his eye he sees Mei perk up and stop crying as she begins paying attention.

 “Did the new CEO steal the money for himself?”

More and more eyes turn to the screen.

“Rumors that Uchiha Itachi was framed have also surfaced”His brother’s eyes widen and Sasuke can’t stop a small smile,from stretching his lips.

“No one available for questioning at the moment-”

Reporters all start repeating the same things over and over,speculating on what could have happened and his family members all stand around in numb shock, before the shrill ring of a phone finally breaks them out of their stupor.

That sets off a chain reaction and before long phones are ringing off the hook and Sasuke is lulled to sleep by the sound of quiet murmurs and trilling phones.

***

A day passes,then two,then three until two weeks pass with things hanging in limbo.

The whole world is watching,waiting for either Danzo or the Uchiha to make a move.

His family is convinced Danzo is playing them,giving them false hope so that he can crush them a second time.Danzo on the other hand is convinced the Uchiha have stolen the money and are using him as a scapegoat.

Neither of them even suspect the presence of a third party and Sasuke capitalizes on this.

He checks on the money that he took from the company vaults and rerouted across the world only once just to make sure that it’s all there,but he’s wary of checking again as he’s certain Danzo is monitoring their moves.

He comes up with several plans and back-up plans for all the different scenarios he can think of,but he doesn’t really have a main plan.He  gets as much strength back as possible until in the end, he can get around with the help of an electronic wheelchair.Ideally, he would like to be standing when he faces Danzo,but he’s learnt to respect his body’s new limits.

His plans all go out the window when they spot several cars,heading towards the manor,the first one having rammed  the gate.

Danzo, has had enough of the waiting game.

***

Danzo stares down at them with his uncovered eye and Sasuke feels himself bristle.

_How dare he…_

How dare he look down on them,he’s nothing more than a thief hungering for something that isn’t his and yet he has the audacity,to look at them as though they are gum beneath his shoe.

“I don’t have time to play games with you Fugaku,give me my money and your family will be escorted to the nearest homeless shelter peacefully”

The disrespectful way he’s addressing his father,who’s been handling himself rather admirably gets to Sasuke and his ever caustic tongue decides to go  after Danzo before he consciously makes the choice.

“Do you mean like you _personally_ escorted the Inuzuka?Or maybe you plan to bury us in mass graves until our bones resurface the same way the Kaguya clan’s did”

There are shocked gasps from all around as Danzo’s eye moves from his father to settle on him,and narrows in suspicion.

“So…you’re the spy,….little Uchiha.”

“It appears you not only suffer from a weak body,but you have a weak mind as well”

The man beside Danzo fidgets slightly,probably having noticed that his boss hasn’t denied the crimes and Sasuke realizes that he knows him.

Sai.

Danzo advances slowly towards Sasuke’s wheelchair and the younger Uchiha fights to not look away and flee like his frantic heartbeat is telling him to do.

“Give me back what is mine,little Uchiha,don’t squander your brother’s sacrifice”Danzo all but hisses when he’s a foot away from Sasuke.

“No”

The word comes out a monotone drawl and Sasuke is glad it masks his fear.Danzo set out to destroy his family and so long as there is life in him,Sasuke will never let that happen.He straightens his shoulders,ignoring the loud popping of his back and slightly uncomfortable pull of his cannula as he leans forward a bit.

“If you want it so bad,you’ll have to pry it from my cold ,dead,hands”

Danzo glares at him for a few seconds,his lone eye wide with shock before it goes cold as his mouth tightens.

“Gladly”

 

***

 

He nods towards his men and the room erupts  into chaos.Danzo’s men start attacking and Sasuke can only watch from the sidelines as his whole family starts fighting for their lives.

Sai is staying out of it-his actions don’t really come as a shock,so Sasuke dismisses him and goes back to watching his family fight.

They are winning.

A small smile makes its way to Sasuke’s face only to die swiftly as Danzo grips him roughly and hauls him to his feet.Sasuke tries to fight him off but it has no effect.For the first time he registers just how poorly his health really is.

He’s twenty-one (almost twenty-two) and he’s being man-handled by a man in his seventies(he can practically feel the gaping wound forming on his ego).

“Enough!”

All the noise around them comes to an abrupt stop,and Sasuke sees Itachi being physically held back by the others as he tries to get to him.

He tries to pull free one last time,but all it does is cause Danzo to strengthen his grip and drag him closer as he begins to choke him.

 

***

Danzo has him by the neck and Sasuke claws weakly at his scared hand as he tries to break free(where is the man getting all his strength from?).

Between that thought and the next,there’s a loud boom,followed by another and then another.There are several more but all Sasuke is aware of  is the spray of blood coating his face.Danzo’s fingers twitch around his neck and he looks Sasuke straight in the eye as the life bleeds out of him.

His knees give out and he finds himself being caught before he can reach the tiled floor.

“It’s alright Sasuke”

Sasuke looks around the room,leaning against his father as he readjusts his cannula with shaking hands(he briefly registers that he needs to apply more Vaseline-it’s getting uncomfortable-but the thought  is flitting as his brain fights not to shut down-while staring at newest addition the the land of the dead)

He finally manages to look away from the corpse and his eyes land on his mother.

 She’s holding a gun to Sai’s head and she’s so calm about the whole thing that it scares him(but interestingly enough, Sasuke isn’t surprised that she just killed a man).

She doesn’t look particularly bothered by the dead body,in fact neither do any of his family members.Only Danzo’s cronies(except Sai) seem bothered by the death of their leader.

***

_Itachi, would make one heck of a political fixer._

The thought occurs to Sasuke as he watches his brother talk circles around the police to make sure that their mother isn’t taken into custody(they end up agreeing-despite the fact that it’s against protocol-and the dead body in the room).Sasuke for his part makes himself look as pathetic as possible,to sway their the lawmen even further(which  isn’t all that difficult considering how wretched he feels).

Danzo’s icky blood is still on him,but they’d decided to let it be-for evidence.When the police glance over at him,he whimpers weakly,snuggling closer to his mother whose holding him to her chest(playing the role of caring mother who’d been forced to do something terrible to a tee-and she is _good_ ).Sasuke feels tear drops land on the tip of his nose and he briefly wonders how long his mother has been able to cry on command before deciding he really doesn’t want to know.(before that night he hadn’t known she was a crack shot,until she’d hit all of Danzo’s vital organs-each got a single bullet).

When the police finally leave,the Uchiha aren’t allowed back in their living room,but no one really seems to mind it.They watch as the police leave with Danzo’s men(strangely enough the sight of Sai in handcuffs isn’t as pleasing as Sasuke thought it would be-he’d read the guy’s file and knows that he was working for Danzo in order to protect his siblings).Sasuke decides then and there to help him get out of jail-but he’ll let him suffer for a little while before doing so-that way when he comes for him,he’ll have a  loyal follower for life.

***

After the paramedics have looked them over (they keep insisting that Sasuke should be in hospital –for _observation-_ but he’s pretty certain the SLE will help him see the hospital many times in the future so he refuses to go with them.

***

A week after the showdown his family has once again congregated at the manor.They are in the living room,which looks much better without Danzo’s corpse ruining the décor.

“Sasuke,the whole family is thankful for what you did,without you our clan would have been reduced to ashes”

A smattering of applause follows his father’s words as the rest of the family.Everyone looks happy,but Sasuke only feels wary,his father only ever doles out praises when he’s about to pull the rug out from somebody’s feet.

“We understand your need to hide the money,but now the danger has passed and it’s time we went back to work”

‘Give us the location of the money so that business can carry on and you can …rest”

Hn,there it is.They expect him to go back to twiddling his thumbs.Sasuke looks at all of them,they  are watching him expectantly,waiting for him to agree and tell his father everything.

As if,…Uchiha Sasuke was through just sitting around.If they thought they could arm wrestle him into submission,they had another thing coming.He took a sip of his cranberry juice,grimacing slightly at the taste and trying his best not to eye everybody else’s tasty looking alcoholic drinks.

“Rest,is such a…strong term”He said as he put his glass down.

“Let’s try something new”

At this the whole family pauses,their eyes zeroing in on him.

“How’d you feel about a shadow CEO ?”

Beside him Itachi sighs rather loudly and his mother’s eyes began to look suspiciously watery(now that he knows of her ability, her eyes are easier to resist).

Sasuke mentally steels himself.Illnesses or not they are not taking away his ability to work.He’d _risked_ everything to save them and the least they owe him is respect.

Yes,Uchiha Sasuke …Shadow CEO,has a nice ring to it.

Itachi will be the official CEO,trapping everyone,business rival and allies in an endless loop of sweet words(money) and divine promises(power) and delivering on them provided everyone kept their end of the bargain, and if they didn’t…well there’d be him,SLE has given him a cover many people only dream of, no one ever suspects the guy with more health problems than a virus-therefore they never prepare for the blade in the dark.

 Shadow CEO indeed.

He smiled at his own thoughts,completely unaware of the sudden quiet at the table.All the occupants except one were terrified—he was unknowingly smiling Uchiha Mikoto’s shark smile,and his mother’s _tears_ had dried magically as she matched her son’s…smile.


End file.
